


The Rescue of the Lost Souls

by ArrowverseLovingAmerican



Category: Escape the Night (Web Series)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Fix-It, M/M, i think i got everybody, i'm not sure about Alex and Lauren but I think I'll keep them together cause timelines, idk if I'm gonna have certain relationships happen but I've got some ideas, this is fix-it don't worry, this is gonna be chaotic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-13
Updated: 2020-01-02
Packaged: 2020-06-26 08:18:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 16,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19764220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArrowverseLovingAmerican/pseuds/ArrowverseLovingAmerican
Summary: Joey Graceffa has found a way to save the friends that he has lost over the last three years. However, it will require the help of the loved ones of those that he has lost and the help of those that survived those three nights. From a boyfriend who has spent the last month starring at a closet full of black clothing and an engagement ring he never got to use to a daily vlogger who quit vlogging when he found out the love of his life was gone. From a Journalist and a Hunter to a Troublemaker and a Detective.Does Joey have a shot at saving those that he lost?Or will the clock strike before he can save them?





	1. Before We Begin

**Author's Note:**

> This chapter is simply the information that one should know before they begin to read this book!

** BEFORE THIS BOOK BEGINS **

  * I am going off what I believe would of happened if we were going based off the Escape The Night timeline. 



  * So David and Liza never broke up, Tyler and Safiya never got engaged, things like that.


  * However, because I can not handle the thought of writing something where a innocent child dies, Colleen was not pregnant with Flynn when she died. She had Flynn like two months before she died. 


  * My version of the characters will show signs of their deaths. For instance, Tana has the long scar across her chest from where she was slashed and Timothy has a hole in his head from the bullet that killed him. Sort of like their latest Tarot cards.


  * The ships within this book are mainly based off the real relationships but I did have to make a few adjustments to accommodate for the timeline and what I think would of happened for our favorite groups.
  * An example of the above would be the fact that in this timeline, Oli and Eva got together after what happened during the first night and further detail as to why they got together will be explained in the book.


  * This book is going to feature some original characters who are going to help our favorite YouTubers out of their current situation as well as some original monsters/villains.


  * This book will have graphic depictions of death and near-death experiences, mentions of homophobia, blood, etc. If those are things that you can not handle, then I understand. Not all books are meant for all people!
  * That's it! Please enjoy this book!




	2. A Chance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joey, Nikita, and Matt find out that they have a chance at saving those that they've lost over the last three years. However, they realize that just the three of them and two members of the Society Against Evil won't be enough.  
> The question is, will the people they need be willing to risk their lives to save those that they lost?

Over the course of the last three years, Joey Graceffa has gone through three different eras and three different places. In each of these places, he has lost people. The first time, he and two others made it out. The second time, two made it out and he died. The third time, he walked out of the trapped in the 70s town of Everlock alive and with two others at his side. Six, seven if you count Joey, had survived. What did it cost? The lives of twenty two YouTubers. Twenty-two people had died and only seven of them had made it. They had defeated Evil three separate times and each time had costed the lives of innocent victims. From a poisoning at a dinner party to death by an Iron Maiden, they had died in awful ways and those ways would forever haunt those who survived each night.

Joey Graceffa had developed a habit after he left Everlock and started working more with the Society Against Evil (SAE). Anytime he had an empty notepad or journal that he wasn't using, he filled it with the same things. Twenty-two's and seven's were scribbled as he researched every possible way to bring back those that he had lost. He had managed to keep contact with the latest survivors, Matthew Patrick and Nikita Dragun. They were working with the SAE as well, sort of as a way of coping with what had happened but also because they were really hoping to find a way to bring back those that they had lost. For Matt he mainly wanted to bring back Rosanna Pansino, a girl who was like a sister to him and who was his best friend until she was stabbed to death by three witches. For Nikita it was Manny, her best friend, who she had had to kill in order for her to survive. 

Joey, Nikita, and Matt were currently sitting in one of the SAE's safe houses, waiting on their friends and fellow SAE members, Ryu and Jael to arrive. Apparently Ryu and Jael believed that they had found a way to rescue their friends. If they actually had, then they were in for a whirlwind of a time. What were they gonna tell the world? That all twenty-two of the YouTubers that had gone missing had been found and rescued? What sort of excuse could they come up with to hide the fact that they had all died? It wasn't like there weren't four other people who knew what they hell had happened. Two who hated Joey and two who didn't even know that he was alive. 

"What if they actually did find a way to bring them back?" Matt suddenly speaks up from his spot on the couch, where he's scrolling through his phone as he makes a list of some sort that he wasn't allowing Joey or Nikita to see. Matt was genuinely hopeful of them being able to save their friends. Nikita and Joey however...they were nowhere near as hopeful as Matt. Nikita didn't know what she would even begin to say to Manny if she was able to see him again. Sorry wasn't going to be enough but it's not exactly like she has a whole speech prepared...totally isn't like she practices what she would say under her breath whenever she gets herself ready in the morning.

"Then we have to be prepared for bringing twenty-two different people back to life." Joey replies from his spot at a table in the kitchen. He was writing in a journal, scribbling down possible ideas and writing more twenty-twos and sevens than he had ever written in his life. When he had come back from months of being missing, his boyfriend Daniel had freaked out and had actually burst into tears. Joey had told Daniel about what had happened, and surprisingly, Daniel believed him after a bit of convincing. From there, Daniel had made the suggestion of therapy but Joey didn't agree to go. So Daniel agreed with Joey's decision after a small fight and from there they had found that Joey's little habit was helping the constant nightmares he had been getting since this all started. 

The nightmares were a common place thing between those that had survived. From nightmares of a mansion built without hands to nightmares of clowns that kill. Out of all seven survivors, however, the one that might have had the worst nightmares was Joey. Not only had he been through all three nights, but he had also literally died and came back to life. Matt was also up there, since he also died and came back to life but for him it happened in one night though he did have nightmares about the fact that his skull was crushed in by the Strong Man. Nikita's nightmares mainly consisted of seeing Manny's face as he told her that she wouldn't kill him...and then seeing the shock on his face as the bullets shot into his chest. There was no telling how many nights they all woke up screaming the names of those that they had lost. 

"What are we going to tell their families and friends if this works?" Nikita speaks up from where she's sharpening knives at the kitchen counter. Since they had left Everlock, Nikita had developed skills with several weapons. Her main weapon of choice was knives and swords and they had sort of become her escape from her regular world; her way to get out all her anger with herself. When she wasn't making killer cat eyes, she was sharpening her knives for her handmade targets. They all did their best to escape from their pasts and they all did it in different ways. Nikita did it via her knives, Matt escaped via spending time with his wife and his son, and Joey did it by spending time with Daniel and their three dogs. 

"I'm thinking something along the lines of getting kidnapped and whoever kidnapped them only let a few go. Whoever kidnapped them seemed really into Joey and that's why Joey kept disappearing." Matt glances up from his phone with a shrug of his shoulders." Not like we can tell them about all the stuff that actually happened to us." They'd be locked up in a mental ward if people heard about what actually happened. The modern world has never been truly ready for magic and that's just been the truth for the last few centuries. 

"That's perfect!" Joey grins at Matt," We just have to make sure that they'd be willing to go along with something like that cause-" That's when they hear the knock on the door. A quick rapid knock, which could only mean one thing, Ryu and Jael were here. Nikita, Matt, and Joey share a look before Nikita places down all her knives but one and heads to the door. She had developed the habit of keeping at least one knife on her person and now it really was sort of her signature thing when around Joey and Matt. Nikita opens the door, making sure to keep the knife tightly gripped in her hand just incase it wasn't Ryu and Jael.

"Hello, Miss Dragun." Jael speaks," There is no need for you to have that knife drawn." She had seen the knife the moment Nikita opened the door, having spent enough time around her to have learned her specific traits and habits. Nikita sighs at Jael's words but she nods and heads back to the kitchen so she can finish sharpening that knife. Jael and Ryu quickly come inside, Ryu closing the door after they're both inside. Judging by the rolled up paper in Jael's hand, they had probably found like a map or something. Hopefully this map would be more useful than the last one they found. That just led to an old SAE mansion full of old costumes and some pretty nice cars that they used to use on missions.

"So what did you guys find this time?" Matt asks this as he sits up and cleans off the coffee table that way Jael can place down the paper she has. "Is it anything good this time or are we looking at another map that leads to another old mansion?" Jael responds to Matt's question by unrolling the paper and placing it on the coffee table. This map was old, yellowing, slightly torn but still readable. It looked like the map of a giant estate or the map of a museum, judging by the writings that they could see. Joey and Nikita quickly join Matt, Jael, and Ryu at the coffee table so they can all see the map.

"This is the real map that we've been looking for." Jael looks at the three of them," This is where your friends are being held. It's a Museum of the Dead that is ran by a woman called The Collector. She captured your friends spirits, keeping them in her museum as if it was their purgatory." She points towards the edge of the map, where a woodsy looking area was. "That is the only spot where we could even enter Purgatory and in order for us to actually enter Purgatory, we'll need three things." Jael looks at Joey," You'll need to grab the four artifacts from The House Built Without Hands." Then Jael looks at Matt," You will need to get the Crown of Oblivion from Joey's Coffin, which is still inside the mansion where he died." Finally she looks at Nikita," And you get to handle the Life Crystal."

"Why do we need all of that stuff? Can you just like use your little...thingys to get us there?" Nikita is clearly confused as to why in the hell the Society Against Evil would need the objects, especially whatever the hell the Crown of Oblivion and the Cursed Artifacts are. Joey had only mentioned them in passing so all she knew about them was that Joey had had to handle those during his previous two adventures.

"Because the Crown is needed to power the portal, the crystal grants us entry without us dying, and the artifacts cut through the barrier protecting the Museum." Jael explains as she points to a spot on the map," Joey, you and Nikita will go through here and get to where we believe your friends are being held while me, Ryu, and Matt will go through the roof." Ryu nods his head at Jael's words and looks at the three," The crown will only have enough power for a short time so we will have to move fast if we want to get through the portal and we must remember that the Collector must be avoided at all costs." 

"Wait, back up." Matt looks at Ryu and Jael," You really want the five of us to do this? Shouldn't we bring back up? Five of us against this Collector lady and her Museum that's presumably full of a bunch of evil crud while we're trying to rescue twenty-two people?! Don't you think those odds sound a little bad to you?" He looks at Nikita and Joey. He did have a point. Five of them against an unknown force while trying to rescue twenty-two people doesn't exactly sound like it would be the easiest thing in the world and it's not like they're the most well trained five people in the world.

"He does have a point." Nikita looks at Jael," We getting back up or do you really expect us five bitches to go in there, go up against this Collector lady, defeat her, save our friends, and make it out alive?" She puts her hands on her hips, Nikita is gonna get really sassy if this is what Jael and Ryu are really expecting them to do. They'd be insane to go in there with just five people, especially considering the fact that they have to rescue twenty-two people, most of which probably hate Joey's guts and some might even hate Nikita and Matt. 

Jael and Ryu share a look before Ryu nods. "Yes, we did expect for the five of us to be able to go in there and get your friends out. However, we do not expect a fight with the Collector if we can help it...." He looks at Jael, not wanting to say more than he needed to. Jael looks at the three," We can't give you any backup. The rest of the Society Against Evil is busy handling other things and it's not like we can just pull anyone at random to come help us save them." Suddenly, Matt gets a look on his face. He had an idea, a slightly crazy idea, but an idea.

"What if we didn't pick at random?" Matt looks at the group," What if we picked people who we know would be willing to help us?" The others look at him, clearly not getting what he's implying. "Think about it," He shows them a list that he had created on his phone, the list of those who survived and a list of the family members and friends of those who didn't survive. " What if we got the other four survivors and some of the dead's friends and family to help us? Surely they'd be down to save the lives of those that they've lost."

"Are you crazy?!" Joey looks at Matt with wide eyes. "Eva and Oli hate me and I'm pretty sure that Andrea and Tyler don't even know I'm alive! Plus how in the hell are we supposed to ask for their help? Go; hey I know I almost got you guys killed but do you maybe wanna risk your lives again so that we can save the people that we got killed?" Joey is not pleased. " And more importantly; do you really wanna ask their friends and family for help?! How do you think Mike is gonna react when he finds out that we're the ones that caused Ro to go 'missing'?!"

"Maybe I am a little bit crazy!" Matt looks at Joey with a clearly angry look. "But for the love of god I want my friends back! If that means I have to beg Eva and Oli and Andrea and Tyler on my freaking knees just to get them to help then I'll do it! If I have to spend the rest of my life making it up to Mike and Rosanna for the pain that I caused them than I will! Do you honestly think that if Mike had a chance to bring back Ro that he wouldn't do it? Cause if you really think that; then I don't think you know your friends at all!" Matt hadn't let himself let out the amount of rage he felt over everything that had happened and honestly...he was pretty scary when he was angry.

"Enough!" Nikita gives Matt and Joey a look," I say that we do it. The more backup we have than the better the chance that we have at getting our friends the fuck out of that mansion and back into the arms of the people that they love!" Nikita blinks rapidly. God she turned into a sap and she hated it but she can't really focus on that right now cause she has to focus on making sure that they are able to get to this museum and get all of their friends back into the world of the living before this Collector lady stuffs them or something. 

Jael and Ryu share a look as if they're thinking about it. Having more people would be more work but at the same time it would mean that they had more backup and more future members of the Society Against Evil...Ryu looks at Joey, Nikita and Matt...and he nods. " I say we do it." He looks at Matt," You're the one with the list, who do you think that we should gather up first?" Joey was look at Ryu like he was crazy but he knew that there was no point in fighting this since it was four against one.

"Well..." Matt looks at the list and then at the group," I say that it's time that we paid our fellow survivors a visit." 


	3. Surviving is Enough Sometimes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joey, Nikita, and Matt decide to pay a visit to two of the others that survived the nights in order to ask for their help with a rescue mission that could save the lives of those that they've lost.  
> The question is, will they agree to help? Or will the past be too much for them to handle?

Sometimes, just surviving is all you can do. Surviving the horrors of life and living to tell the tale is sometimes all you can do. At least, that's how our other four survivors looked at it. Eva Gutowski, Oli White, Andrea Russet, and Tyler Oakley. Those were the names of the other four survivors. Those were the names of the people that Joey, Nikita, and Matt needed to talk to. There was a small problem with that though; Oli and Eva were pissed at Joey because of what happened and they were like ninety percent sure that Andrea and Tyler didn't even know that Joey was alive. Which was sort of Joey's fault because of the fact that he hadn't actually gone onto his YouTube channel and actively posted since before he disappeared. Daniel had tried to get him to post but Joey said he needed more time and Daniel respected that. 

Oli and Eva were the ones that survived that first night with Joey at their side. They had been pissed on the inside when they had left and from there, they stopped talking to Joey. Though one good thing did come out of that night, Oli and Eva meet. After that night, they both sort of realized that they had been through enough together to where they were the only ones that really understood the other. From that realization came a date and that date led to many more dates, now they had been together for nearly three years and were living together in a house in LA. One bad thing that came from their relationship was the fact that they don't really have a lot of options for movies anymore. Eva can't even look at movies with a gun in them without wanting to start sobbing and Oli can't handle things that involve circuses or things to do with electrical deaths. When they had gotten those invitations to that second party, Eva had burned hers and Oli had ripped his up. Then they made sure to burn the remains of Oli's letter. They wanted nothing to do with Joey. Nothing.

Andrea and Tyler had stayed in contact after what happened at the second party and did their best to honor Joey's memory. The first thing they did was go to Daniel so that they could tell him that Joey had passed. They came up with the idea that Joey had been killed by some crazy stalker but that none of them could say anything about it due to the fact that she threatened to come after Andrea and Tyler next if they went to the police. It had broken their hearts to see Daniel breakdown like he did when he heard them say that Joey was dead. It was like all the hope in his eyes was gone in a flash and then they heard him let loose the most gut wrenching sob of all time as he sunk to the floor. The love of his life was dead, the man he wanted to spend the rest of his life with was gone...what was he gonna do? Andrea and Tyler stayed with Daniel for the next few days, helping him recover and keeping a close eye on him just incase the pain got to be too much for him. Once they were sure that he was gonna be okay, they had gone home to actually get some sleep in the comfort of their own beds.

These two pairs had no idea that the other pair had even gone through the same sort of thing that they did. Why did they have no idea? Because none of them could really say anything about what happened without them seeming like complete and utter lunatics so they had fallen back on some phony excuse as to why they hadn't been active as of late. It was really difficult to hide the truth but when you've got no other choice than to hide what happened to you, then you go with hiding what happened to you. Though they weren't going to be able to hide for much longer, especially since now Oli and Eva were about to be talked to by a very sneaky Joey, Nikita, and Matt. Nikita had texted Eva and been like 'Hey girl can I come over and bring two of my other friends?' And Eva had been like 'Yeah sure as long as they aren't crazy lol. Oli has a headache and I'm super sleepy so I'm sorry in advance if we aren't too fun.' Nikita had managed to keep Eva in with the idea that it was just gonna be a fun hang out long enough for Matt, Joey, and Nikita to get through to Oli and Eva's house after they had gotten through the gate since Oli and Eva had made the decision to live in a gated community.

As they pulled up to Oli and Eva's house, they noticed something that was sort of...off about the house. Maybe it was the fact that Matt immediately noticed that there was a somewhat hidden camera just in the corner above the front doorway or maybe it was the fact that even though the house was a beautiful light blue color and the curtains were wide open, it didn't seem like any light was actually there. Nikita and Matt get out first, that way they can hide Joey behind them as they walk. They move quickly once Joey is out of the car and the car doors are shut, not wanting to risk the cameras actually seeing the top of Joey's head. Nikita is the one who knocks on the door, making sure that Matt is right at her side and that Joey is crouched low enough to the ground to where he can't be seen but also not so low that he's basically completely behind Nikita and Matt's legs. 

Eva was the one to open the door; a small smile on her face. "Hey Nikita!" She looks at Matt, surprised that he's with Nikita. "Oh, hey Matt!" She gives them both a small hug," I thought there were going to be three of you and not two?" Eva was clearly confused, which was reasonable cause Nikita did keep saying that it was gonna be her and her two friends coming over so it would of been weird if she suddenly showed up with just Matt and not someone else as well. "Did something happen and your other friend couldn't make it or?"

"Actually..." Nikita and Matt share a look and Nikita gives Eva a smile. "Can we talk inside? This isn't something we should be discussing within the eyes of your neighbors." Eva raises an eyebrow, clearly concerned, but she nods and lets them come inside. Eva heads into the living room to check on Oli, who had laid down on the couch since his head was hurting, after making sure to tell Nikita and Matt to shut the door once they were inside. Nikita and Matt shut the door and lock it once they are safely inside and after making sure that Joey was still behind them and wasn't gonna get locked outside.

Joey quietly whispers to Nikita and Matt," Get them to close the curtains that are in the living room. If this goes wrong and we start arguing, the neighbors might get suspicious if they can see it happening. When the curtains are closed, I'll pop out and we'll convince them into coming with us." Nikita and Matt share a look, not sure if this plan will actually work, but they are willing to give anything a shot at this point. So they head into the living room after making sure that Joey was well hidden and out of sight completely.

Oli was lying on the couch, his head on a pillow and his eyes closed. Eva had walked back into the kitchen to get Oli some water since she figured that might help him feel a little better. Judging by the way his eyebrows were scrunched up, Oli was in a lot of pain. Though he does open his eyes when he hears Nikita and Matt approaching. "Hi guys..." He gives them a weak wave and winces," Sorry if I'm not too energetic. I've had this god awful headache for the last three days and it's driving me freaking mad." Matt nods his head at that, he understood getting super bad headaches. Ever since he came back from the dead, he gets these god awful headaches right at the top of his head...right where it got smashed in when he died. "I keep some super strong headache pills with me? Maybe those will help?" Matt suggests, reaching into his pocket and puling out a bottle of headache pills. Those were the really good ones that could knock a headache out in a matter of minutes.

Oli's eyes widen a little as he sees the bottle and he quickly nods," I'll take anything at this point if it will stop this bloody headache." Luckily, Eva walks in at that moment with the glass of water. So Matt hands Oli two of the headache pills and Eva hands him the glass of water, then Oli quickly takes the pills. "God I hope this works." Oli mutters this right after he finishes taking he pills. Eva nods her head," I hope they work too. I hate seeing you in pain and considering the fact that you've been in pain for the last three days, it's been pretty miserable." Oli chuckles a tiny bit," You've got that right."

"Eva," Nikita smiles politely at the other woman," Is it alright if I close the curtains? I figure that if we do that it might help Oli's headache calm down plus Matt burns like a peach and as much as I would love to see him look bright pink, I don't think it'd be good for him to be sunburnt around a baby." Eva smiles a tiny bit," I'll get them. I understand the whole burning thing, Oli burns just as bad." Oli goes to protest but Eva gives him a look and he sighs cause okay yeah she's right and he can't argue with Eva when they both know that she's right. Eva simply leans over the couch and closes the curtains, wireless blackout curtains, not bad. 

Matt felt a little offended on Oliver's half for a second cause he did not expect Nikita to even go near mentioning Oliver but she did. He'd let that slide for right now, but he and Nikita are definitely going to be discussing that later. "Listen," Matt looks at Oli and Eva now that the curtain is down," We didn't come here just to hang out. We actually came here cause we need your help." Oli and Eva both looked confused and they share a look before Oli looks at Matt. "With what?" Matt replies to the question by letting out a whistle, the sort of signal for Joey to appear from where he had been hiding. Though he does carefully step into the living room, fully prepared to book it incase Eva and Oli wanna throw things at him.

"Joey." Eva's eyes widen, she was clearly shocked to see him and she did seem pissed. Oli was trying to be pissed but then he realizes something, his headache was gone. He could actually look at Eva without having to squint just to be able to fully focus on her and whatever she was saying. "What exactly is this about, Joey?" Oli looks at Joey, an eyebrow raised. "Are you inviting us to go to another one of your dinner parties?" He says that with anger that was clearly anger that had been pinned up over the last two, almost three, years. 

"No actually." Joey sighs at Oli's words," Though I am here because we found a way to save the people that died that night...and those that died during the other two nights." Eva elected to save yelling about that second half for another day, she was honed in on the fact that there was a chance for them to save the people that died during their party, even if she was a bit skeptical about what he was saying. "You mean to tell me that there is a chance that we can save everyone who we lost that night? How?" She glances at Oli, sort of giving him a look like 'We can yell at him later if he's serious about this.'

"They are trapped in a Museum of the Dead that's in Purgatory and in order to get there we need to open a portal." Joey explains," It was supposed to just be me, Nikita, Matt and two other members of the Society Against Evil going into save them. Which, incase you can't tell from the name, is a Society that fights Against Evil. They found me when I died, long story, I now work for them and so do Matt and Nikita. Anyways, it was supposed to be just us five but we thought it would be best if we gathered more people up to help us with this rescue mission cause we have to rescue twenty-two people and that is gonna take a lot of work." 

"Twenty-two people?!" Oli gives Joey a look," How in the bloody hell did you get twenty-two people killed, Joey?!" He was angry as all hell but also genuinely curious as to how in the hell Joey Graceffa managed to get twenty-two people killed. It's not like he accidentally killed them himself so clearly something had happened during each of those nights. He and Eva knew what happened during their night but they didn't see how they could of gotten that many more people killed. "And don't say it was an accident because with you it is never an accident!"

"Actually; the second one wasn't technically my fault because I was cursed by a Sorceress and didn't know that I had sent out all those letters cause I was being drank half to death by vampires so..." Joey now is not the time to be the beautiful sassy boy that you are. Oli and Eva share another look. So now vampires and sorceresses are involved in all of this mess?! What's next; killer clowns? Matt gives Joey a look," The third time was your fault though cause you invited us and then we all got trapped and nearly died by killer clowns and a bunch of other creepy things." Huh. Killer clowns.

"So, if I heard you right," Eva looks at Joey," You want us to go with you on this probably highly dangerous life threatening mission into Purgatory so that we can save all the people that you got killed?" Even though she was being sassy, there was that little voice in the back of her head that told her to go with it and actually go that way they could save everyone. Eva looks over at Oli, who's frowning like he's in deep concentration. He's either considering how to say no or he's weighing the pros and cons out for going and doing this whole thing with Joey and the rest of these people.

"When you put it that way it sounds like none of us were also involved in their deaths." Joey gives Eva and Oli both looks. He might have a small point but there is no reason for him to point said point out. Eva and Oli both make the noise of someone who is being grumpy but judging by the fact that they haven't said no, they might actually get a yes out of Eva and Oli.

Eva sighs and looks at Oli," Babe, if we do this, you know the risks that we're taking?" Oli nods," I know the risk, love. As long as I'm with you, I think I can handle it." Was that a yes or was that them talking about what would happen if they did go? Sometimes people can just be so confusing. Though it was easy to see that they were only willing to take this risk as long as the other had their back. 

"So is that a yes or are you guys just trying to be cryptic?" Nikita looks at Oli and Eva. She was getting real tired of not having an actual answer and she's also getting hungry so they really need to hurry it up with all of this. Oli and Eva share a look before they nod.

"We'll do it."


	4. Bumps in the Road

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group decides to go to Joey's house so that they can figure out how to get Andrea and Tyler in one place. However, during the drive to Joey's house, something happens. From this, they learn something new about Eva and Oli.

Joey, Matt, Nikita, Oli and Eva had gone to Joey's house since it was easier for them to convene at his house than making the two hour drive to the safe house when Joey's house was only like an hour away. The hour long drive was a bit awkward at first, but luckily the car was one of those cars with three rows of seats so it wasn't like they were all bunched up in two rows and forced to act social. Oli and Eva cuddled up in the third row of the car, Matt was laying in the middle and was taking a nap since he needed a quick recharge, and Joey was driving and Nikita was in the front passenger seat next to Joey. 

The ride was actually going rather smoothly since Oli and Eva were busy watching something on Eva's laptop while sharing a pair of earbuds, Matt was sleeping rather well considering the fact that he had to scrunch up a bit since he's 5'10, and Joey and Nikita were focusing on the road and making sure they got back so that they could actually discuss how to get Andrea and Tyler into one place. Nikita had suggested tricking them into coming by saying that there was an emergency and that Daniel needed their help with something but Joey had decided that that was too much and that if they wanted to involve Daniel then they would have to ask him themselves. Though even then, Joey wasn't sure that he wanted to involve Daniel in all this craziness.

They were about thirty minutes from Joey's house, driving down this nice little stretch of road in a sort of wooded area, when they hit a rather large pothole. Once they hit that pothole, Matt shot straight up and screamed. "Ro!" Judging by the way he had said it, Joey and Nikita knew that he had probably been dreaming about Rosanna Pansino alive and well, not dead and stuck in some Purgatory level Museum of the Dead. Nikita had had a few dreams like that, where she and Manny were sitting on her couch watching Netflix and just as she leaned in so that she could put her head on his shoulder, she heard the gunshots and woke up...god she hated those dreams. Joey had had dreams like that about a lot of people...it sucked, but he had gotten used to them at this point. He had tried the whole take control of your dreams thing but it hadn't worked.

Joey quickly pulled over and parked the car. Matt was shaking, his arms wrapped around his knees and his head buried in his arms as he sobbed. Before Nikita or Joey could get to the backseat, Eva had paused her and Oli's movie, taken out her earbud, and hopped over the seat and next to Matt so that she could help him. "Matt? Can you hear me? It's Eva." She speaks calmly, not putting her hand on his shoulder incase he was someone that couldn't do physical contact while he was having a panic attack like this. Matt manages to nod, his breathing was super fast and it was almost like he couldn't control his body in the slightest.

"I'm gonna need you to repeat these numbers in the order I say them, okay?" Numbers? How were numbers gonna help? Matt nods again and Eva begins to rattle off a series of numbers," 6, 10, 34, 12, 3." Matt repeats the numbers, slowly but surely. Eva does this again, with a new set of numbers. After a while of doing this, Matt's breathing had returned to normal and he had stopped panicking. How did Eva know that that would work? Matt looks up from his arms, wiping his eyes off with his sleeve and smiling a little shakily at Eva," Thank you." 

"It's no problem. Me and Oli learned a lot of techniques for calming people down during panic attacks since we both still have them sometimes." Eva shrugs," Your brain can't panic and repeat numbers out of order at the same time. So by asking you to repeat those numbers, your brain has to chose order over panic." Wow. That's actually a really useful thing to know. Joey has to remember to try that the next time Daniel has a panic attack from one of the nightmares that he got as a result of Joey disappearing for those months. People don't really seem to realize that these nights didn't just effect the people that were there, they affected the people who were related or close to those that were there. 

"Damn girl," Nikita smiles at Eva," You are awesome." Nikita gushes a tiny bit cause she hadn't really hung out with any other girls since she came back so it was nice to see another girl, especially one like Eva. Eva seemed like she had gotten her shit together, at least enough to where she could handle a relationship. Granted, it was a relationship with someone who survived what happened for them but isn't that a bit better than dating someone who has no idea what happened? At least if you date someone who survived that sort of thing than they would probably better understand your trauma than someone who has no idea what it's like to almost die and to have to watch a bunch of your friends and some people you just met die.

"Why thank you." Eva smiles back at Nikita and then looks at Matt," Drink some water and have a honey-stick." Oli had been looking through the two backpacks that he and Eva had brought with them while Eva had been helping Matt. "Here, mate." Oli hands Matt one of those really cool metal water bottles that keeps water pretty cold and a honey-stick. "The water will soothe the beginnings of your throat pain from the crying and the honey is gonna help both soothe and heal any roughness." Oli explains, he had figured that out after Eva had a really bad nightmare and spent a good hour crying in his arms while he searched online for ways to soothe a sore throat. So honey and tea popped up, but since tea can be a bit of a nightmare, he went with water for when they're traveling. 

"Thank you both." Matt smiles at Eva and Oli. He was glad that Eva and Oli were able to help him, it was nice to have people around who knew what to do when one of his panic attacks would start. Stephanie was pretty good at helping him when he had one but since they had Oliver it had been harder for her to help him when he had a panic attack so Matt sort of got this bad habit of hiding in one of their bathroom when he felt a panic attack coming on that way Stephanie could focus on Oliver and not have to deal with Matt. 

"It's no problem, Matt." Oli nods at Matt and smiles at Eva. "Are you all good now or do you need a few more minutes?" Oli asks Matt this just incase Matt wants to take a minute or two to chill. Matt nods," I'm all good. We can go back to driving to Joey's house now." Eva removes her hand from Matt's shoulder with a smile," Alright, if you start feeling like another panic attack is coming; let us know, okay?" Matt nods," I'll let you guys know." With that, Eva hops back into the backseat with Oli, Matt lays back down, Joey resumes driving and Nikita keeps quietly trying to come up with ideas for how they can get Andrea and Tyler in one place.

Soon enough, they reach Joey and Daniel's house and head inside once they all get out of the car and all that jazz. Daniel was in the kitchen making some food since he knew that they were coming back to the house via a text from Nikita. He was making some pasta and some sauce, all of which was nice and glutton free and vegan because he wasn't completely sure if any sort of diet things had changed over the last while. Everybody heads into the living room besides Joey, who goes into the kitchen to give Daniel a quick hello kiss and hug. That had sort of become their staple since Joey came back. Hugs and kisses whenever they got the chance. Why? Because you never know when someone is gonna be gone so love them as much as you can while they're here.

Once Joey had given Daniel his hello kiss and hug he heads into the living room. It was time to come up with a plan to get Andrea and Tyler over to Joey's house. The problem was, how were they gonna do it? Nikita was still onto the idea of having Daniel get involved. Though Joey still didn't agree with Nikita until finally, Daniel himself walked into the living room and spoke simply.

"Give me ten minutes and they'll be booking it down here." This was gonna be fun. 


	5. Daniel Isn't Just A Pretty Face

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daniel agrees to help Joey and the group get Andrea and Tyler into one place. The group learns something new about Daniel through this experience and they make sure to remember it for later. Once Andrea and Tyler show up, how are they going to react to the fact that Joey is alive?

When Daniel said he just needed a few minutes, that was all he needed. He had went into the kitchen, threw some water on his face so it looked tear streaked, rubbed his eyes a bit to make them look red like he had been crying, and then instructed everyone to shut up and move out of the frame of his phone so that he could FaceTime Andrea and then Tyler. Daniel sat down in front of the couch, making sure that none of the others were in frame before he made the FaceTime to Andrea. She had picked up within the first two rings, which was a little surprising cause it normally took like five rings for her to pick up. "Hey Daniel- oh my god what's wrong?!" Andrea had sounded calm at first, then they realized that she was probably freaked out by how sad Daniel looked.

"I-I..." Daniel takes a deep breath," Can you come over? I had a super bad panic attack and I just need you here with me..." Damn. Daniel knew how to make himself sound like he had been crying for at least an hour. Truly the beginnings of an Oscar worthy career. "Of course! Give me ten minutes and I'll be down at your house. Do you want me to call Tyler?" Daniel nods his head at Andrea's question," Y-Yeah...you guys are probably the only ones that even kind of understand the pain that I'm feeling..." He takes a shuddery, deep breath. "I'm on it. Just stay where you are and me and Tyler will be there as soon as we can, okay?" Andrea could be seen moving around, presumably looking for her car keys and her purse. "Okay...the spare key is in the same place, under the red stone that's right by the front door." Daniel pretends to wipe at his face with his sleeve, a signal to the others that Andrea was most definitely going to be coming, and probably with Tyler at her side. "Alright. I'll see you in a bit; I'm gonna call Tyler and then me and him will be down there as soon as we can." With that, Andrea hangs up. Well, at least they don't have to call Tyler as well.

Daniel grins at the group," What did I tell you? Under ten minutes and now they're both on their way here." He stands up and wipes off his knees," I'm going to go wash my face off so I can prepare for the real event; you guys need to find places to hide until I'm ready to bring you out when they get here. Cause I don't think they'll be too keen on staying here if they see you guys, especially you." Daniel looks at Joey, who shrugs. "What? It's not my fault that they don't know that I'm alive." Daniel gives Joey a look," Oh really? I tried to convince you to post again but you wouldn't agree to it; which I respect because I understand needing time to recover. However, you could've of shot them a text and gone 'Hey I'm alive.'" Daniel has a good point and they all know it. So Joey gives a small grumble and then he and the others go off to hide. 

Luckily, it wasn't that hard to find hiding spots around the house, especially since there was a decent size closet, a large pantry, and a cupboard under the stairs that were all downstairs. Matt and Nikita hid in the closet, Oli and Eva hid in the pantry, and Joey hid in the cupboard under the stairs. Oh the Harry Potter jokes that would of been made if it weren't for the fact that they needed to focus on staying quite once Andrea and Tyler got there and for coming up with what they would say once they were actually talking to Andrea and Tyler.

it takes a good twenty minutes, but Andrea and Tyler arrive. They hear the cars pull up and everyone hides, Daniel making sure his face is extra sad looking and that he's got enough water on his face to make it look like he's got tear stains from at least an hour of crying. Though he doesn't rub his eyes as much since he can play that off as him putting some eyedrops in his eyes. Daniel sits down in front of the couch and holds onto a pillow, squeezing it a bit as he patiently waits for Tyler and Andrea to come into the house. Over the time that they had helped Daniel, it had become common place for them to just unlock the door and come in whenever Daniel asked them to come over. So it was no surprise to Daniel when he heard the door open, followed by Andrea's voice. "Daniel? It's me and Tyler! Where are you?" She calls out, just incase he was upstairs or outside.

"I'm in the living room!" Daniel replies, he can hear Andrea and Tyler presumably putting bags down by the door and then they walk down the hallway and into the living room. Andrea and Tyler both looked like they had rushed over as fast as they could, judging by the fact that Andrea's hair was much messier than it normally is and that Tyler looked like he had thrown on whatever shoes he could find first. In this case the shoes were a pair of bright pink bunny slippers, a joke gift that Tyler's boyfriend had gotten him one fine day as a sort of gag gift. "What happened?" Tyler quickly walks over to Daniel," Did you watch anything that could of triggered a nightmare as bad as I'm guessing this one was?" Daniel shakes his head," No...it just...happened. I hadn't thought about Joey or anything...but it...it still happened." 

Andrea frowns slightly," Do you want me to go make you some tea? You look like you've been crying for quite a while." She didn't want to get Daniel the tea unless he actually specifically said that he wanted some. "No, I'm good. Though would it be alright if we sat here for a minute? I need to tell you guys something..." Andrea and Tyler share a look, clearly concerned for their friend. "Of course." Tyler sits down on the couch, being on the left side of Daniel. Andrea follows suit, sitting on the couch, but to Daniel's right side and not his left.

"I...I didn't invite you guys here because of a nightmare..." Daniel stands up, looking at Andrea and Tyler. "I invited you guys here...because there's something that I need to show you guys." Andrea and Tyler look at Daniel, clearly concerned as to what he meant. "What did you need to show us?" Andrea asks, speaking calmly and a bit slowly, kind of wondering if she wanted to know what it was or not. Daniel responds by making a loud whistle noise, the signal for Joey and the rest of the group to come out of their various hiding spots.

Andrea and Tyler look around in confusion as they see Oli and Eva come out of the pantry, Matt and Nikita come out of the closet, and finally...Joey came out of the cupboard under the stairs. As soon as Andrea and Tyler saw Joey, they both burst into tears. Though they were both clearly not believing their eyes. There was no way that Joey was alive, they put him in a coffin, they saw him die. So how was he standing in front of them right now? And why were Nikita, Matt, Oli and Eva here? Did they have something to do with whatever had happened? 

"J-Joey?" Tyler's eyes widen as he looks at Joey. Andrea was trying to speak but she couldn't figure out how to get the words out. "Hi guys." Joey smiles at Andrea and Tyler," I'm back." Finally, Tyler and Andrea snap out of their shock long enough to run and give Joey a group hug cause holy hell he was alive. Joey gladly hugs back when Andrea and Tyler hug him," I missed you guys so much. I am so sorry that I didn't contact either of you when I came back...I just needed time to recover after what I went through when I died and eventually came back to life." Andrea and Tyler look at him in shock, obviously he had come back to life, they just didn't expect him to say it.

"How...how did you come back?" Tyler looks at Joey, clearly wondering how Joey could of come back. Andrea was wondering the same thing because she knows that she saw Joey die. She knows that she and Tyler have spent the last year having nightmares and consoling Daniel about the fact Joey had died...but she also knew that she saw some really weird and awful things that night. So did he have to use some of the stuff from that stuff to come back to life? Did he have to go through hell? What did Joey have to go through to return to the World of the Living?

"Well...I woke up at a Church..." 


	6. Matt Has A Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group has told Andrea and Tyler of what went on and it would seem that they are willing to help. Though now it's time to look at Matt's list. The list of other people that they could go to for help.

Joey had told Andrea and Tyler the whole story. From that first dinner party to Everlock to them finding out about how to bring their friends back, obviously he skipped over their time at the Victorian Mansion cause they were there for that part. Andrea and Tyler had listened intently, nodding along and doing their best to follow whatever he said. Now it was time for anyone in the room, but mainly Andrea and Tyler, to ask questions just incase they hadn't understood something or just needed to double check and make sure that they heard a certain part of the story correctly cause sometimes Joey says stuff way too fast and it sounds like he said Evercrock instead of Everlock. 

"Wait," Andrea looks at Matt after they've gone through the whole story," You came back to life, right?" Matt nods his head," Yeah..." Andrea looks at Matt," Is there any...scarring from how you died? You don't have to answer that if you don't wanna, I'm just curious." She was just curious to see if their deaths left scars or if they would come back with no signs of their deaths ever occurring. Especially in the case of people like Liza, who got beheaded. Matt frowns a tiny bit at the question but he nods," It's fine. I've got some scarring but my hair covers it up." He moves his hair a bit and they can see jagged scars running around the side of his head. "Getting your head smashed in sucks; but at least mine are easy to cover."

None of them could imagine what Matt had went through. The sort of pain that he had probably felt...it must of been awful. Hell, the only other person who had died was Joey, and his death was nowhere near as painful as Matt's probably was. Joey got stabbed a few times, sure, but Matt got his freaking skull crushed in by a dude with arm's the size of canons. Granted, his was fast...some people got slow, painful deaths. Justine was buried alive, Colleen was killed in an Iron Maiden, Liza had her head sliced off...this was not the sort of thing that anyone could just forget happening. 

Tyler and Andrea both frown. They were thinking of the friends that they lost that night. Tana would have a scar all the way across her stomach, Jesse would have a giant bite mark in his neck, Gabbie would have a hole in her chest where her heart should be...God they must be so angry with those that made it out. They were all thinking of those that didn't make it...Colleen, Lauren, DeStorm, Shane, so many people had died and so many people were going to be permanently scarred, even after they were saved. "Jesus..." Tyler frowns and looks at Matt," Does it hurt?" Matt seems a little confused," Dying or the scars? If you mean dying; it really does depend on how you died. My death was painful, but quick. The scars from coming back...they've led to this thing where now I get insanely bad headaches like five times a week. It sucks, but I've learned to put up with it."

"Wow..." Andrea sighs and she seems to look down for a second before she looks at Joey. "So you said that you want me and Tyler to join you on this whole mission to Purgatory to save our friends and everyone else who has died...do you really think they'll wanna come back if they're in anywhere near the pain Matt is in?" Joey nods his head at her question," I think so. I know that the process is going to be painful; but I also know that they truly love the people that they left when they died. I don't think Colleen will hold a grudge against me about bringing her back to life since it means she gets to spend time with her son." He had a point. Even if they hated Joey, they'd probably at least thank him for bringing them back since it means they can be with their loved ones again.

Andrea nods then," Alright. I'm in." Tyler seems to think for a second before he nods," I'm in too. I can't stand knowing that some of the sweetest people I ever met are stuck in that place." The fact that people like Rosanna Pansino and Lauren Riihimaki were stuck in that place was horrible. Though they did know that their friends were a lot stronger than most people ever really wanted to give them credit for. Rosanna maybe a tiny girl, but she is strong as hell cause rolling dough is hard to do and she does it like it's nothing. Most of the guys would be okay, probably. Manny might smack a few bitches, but what can you expect? He's Manny, aka one of the sassiest men on the planet.

"I'm in too." Daniel had sort of been standing off to the side, listening, but there was clearly a determination in his eyes. "What?" Joey looks at Daniel, surprised. "I said; I'm in and before you try to argue with me and say it's too dangerous, I know the stakes. You are not going in there without me and you can fight me all you want about it; but it's happening." Daniel wasn't going to lose Joey again, which meant he was going with Joey this time around. Joey sighs and looks at Daniel like he's considering if the argument is worth it before he just nods. "Alright but you have to stay close to me the entire time." Daniel smiles a bit," Sweetie are you sure that you won't be the one sticking close to me?" Daniel knew he could handle himself in there and he knew that Joey knew that too. Though he also knew that his boyfriend could be a bit worried sometimes, especially since he came back to life. 

"Now that we've got the survivors," Matt speaks, looking to the whole group. "I believe that it's time that we look over my list of potential loved ones of the deceased that we could recruit into coming with us." He had been on the ball about making that list, making sure to pick the right people to ask since he knows that they need strong people who can handle whatever might happen in Purgatory. Matt had considered some people and then marked them off the list, though he had circled some names cause he knew that they would definitely be in.

"Who's the first one you've got on your list?" Andrea asks, she was actually kind of curious to see what Matt had managed to come up with. She was just hoping that whoever this first person was wasn't too off the walls cause she doesn't wanna doubt Matt, he seems smart. Maybe that's why he was the Detective, because he could detect. It might also be because he is basically the only person she knows of who has made that many Five Nights at Freddy's theory videos and seemed at least right, from what she could remember of the 26 something videos he has on Five Nights At Freddy's. 

"A certain daily vlogger by the name of David Dobrik. He stopped posting once Liza 'disappeared'." Matt sighs," Rumor has it that he hasn't left his house in months, had the security mega upgraded and now even his friends can't seem to get him to film with them." 


	7. The Vlogger Who Stopped Vlogging

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group goes to visit David Dobrik, Vlogger and boyfriend of Liza Koshy, to see if they can convince him to join them on the trip to Purgatory. The question is, can they get him out of his current state long enough to get him to shower and hop in the car with them?

David Dobrik, daily vlogger and boyfriend to Liza Koshy, was the first one of the loved ones of the deceased that they had decided to go and see. Based on the research that Matt had done during the time it took for them to gather up a few supplies and for everybody to freshen up, they were able to learn a few things that had gone on with David since Liza's 'disappearance'. At first, he had continued vlogging, up until two months into Liza's 'disappearance', when he posted a 10 minute video titled 'I can't do this for right now', in which he explained that he would not be vlogging for the foreseeable future since he wanted to focus on helping Liza's family and helping with the search to find her. From there, he was rarely spotted outside but still made appearances in his friends vlogs when they would come over to check on him. Then roughly four months ago, he stopped showing up in the vlogs, but his friends assured their fans that he was alive and just wanted to be alone for a little while. 

They were going to David's house in all three cars that they had access to, which was Joey's car, Andrea's car, and Tyler's car. Daniel was driving Joey's car and had Oli and Eva with him, Andrea was driving her car and had Matt with her, and Tyler was driving his car and had Nikita with him. This meant that they would be able to carry anything that they needed, like costumes, more people, and probably food cause they were all beginning to get hungry. Plus they needed one of the cars to hide Joey since nobody knows he's alive besides the group and the SAE, so he got stuck in the trunk of Andrea's car for the duration of the drive. Luckily for Joey, the drive wasn't incredibly long. Though one thing they realized upon reaching the gate to David's house was that the security was much tighter, luckily for them, there was one of those intercom things sort of at level with the car's window. 

Daniel's car was at the front of their little line, so he leans out the window a tiny bit and presses the button to speak into the intercom. "David? It's Daniel Preda. I don't know if you're near the intercom, but if you are, me and a few of my friends are here to see you. We all knew Liza and we just wanna make sure that you're okay." There was silence for a few seconds, and then they heard David's voice...except he sounded awful. It was like he had been crying, feeling sick, and sleeping way too much all at once. "Go away..." Daniel sighs, he had a feeling David would be like that. That's how Daniel had been during those first few months that Joey had been gone. "David...as someone who has gone through what you're going through, keeping everyone out isn't healthy. Joey's been missing for three years, trust me, you don't wanna block out some of the only people who know what you're going through." 

David is silent for a few moments, almost like he's actually considering this. "Who all is with you?" Daniel grins a bit, process is process. "Andrea Russet, Tyler Oakley, Oli White, Eva Gutowski, Nikita Dragun, and Matthew Patrick. We're in three separate cars cause everybody needed a little space since we had been in one car up until Andrea and Tyler got to my house with their cars." He was really hoping that they could pull this off. When David wanted to be a determined fighter, he could be one. Plus he's probably the only one of them that can pull certain things off without risking losing some organ or a limb. "Hm...okay, you guys can come in. Though I'm warning you now; my place is a bit of a mess right now." Daniel could see Oli and Eva share a look. A bit of a mess most likely meant a crazy mess, so Oli and Eva were prepared to clean while Daniel and Joey did their thing cause they can't really leave David's house a mess before they go do this.

The gates open to David's place and they drive up the driveway, all three cars parked and ready to go as the gates close and lock behind them. Daniel looks around, searching for cameras just incase. Yep. Three cameras, one directly above the garage door, one in the corner just near the front door, and one on the wall beside the garage. He had definitely upped security since Liza's 'disappearance'. Getting Joey inside was going to be a bit of an issue, especially if David was watching the cameras like Daniel had done. Always hoping for a sign of Liza...from the smallest glitch of the camera to the shadow of a racoon who managed to get inside the property. 

Daniel walks over to Andrea and quietly whispers to her," What do we do about Joey?" He was clearly concerned cause they really couldn't just leave Joey outside in the trunk of a car in LA Summer weather aka sunburn from being outside for just a minute weather. "What if you and the others distract him and keep him away from the cameras while I get Joey inside and hidden?" Andrea was a relatively good sneak when she wanted to be so maybe she could actually pull that off without having to risk getting spotted too much. The others just had to help Daniel distract David long enough for them to get her inside, which they could do if they managed to keep their focus on that for long enough. Oli and Eva were just gonna clean up though cause they all knew they were probably gonna walk into a clean freak's worst nightmare.

The group gathers that way they could discuss the plan for a moment. They go over the fact that Daniel, Nikita, and Matt would be distracting David while Oli and Eva cleaned and while Andrea and Tyler got Joey inside safely and without David noticing. Oli and Eva suggested cleaning since it was just the thing that they preferred doing over having to try to sneak around or having to actually talk to someone that they didn't really know all that well. Once they were sure of the plan, everyone except for Andrea and Tyler stay back, talking somewhat loudly about needing to find Andrea's earring and that the others could go ahead. If this went wrong, they would be completely and utterly screwed, so this had to work.

Daniel knocks on the front door, the others standing behind him. He manages to keep himself pretty chill, not wanting to show the others the fact that he's actually insanely nervous about all of this. If this goes wrong, they could end up in a really bad situation and he could possibly lose Joey again. He can not go through losing him again...he can't do it. They hear the click of a lock, then they hear a voice coming from the camera near the front door. "Let yourselves in. I unlocked the door, eat whatever you want. If you wanna talk to me, I'm in my room." Daniel opens the front door and the first thing that hits them is how quiet it is...it was like there was no sound in a place that used to be full of laughter.

They head inside and see the extent of the mess. The place looked like it had been completely and utterly trashed...save for anything that Liza had given David or that reminded David of Liza, those were kept perfect and hadn't seen any harm. "Good god..." Oli mutters this under his breath as he looks around. He spots the kitchen and nods at Eva," I'm guessing that's where we'll find the trash bags and cleaning supplies." With that, they head into the kitchen to grab any cleaning supplies that they could find cause this place needed some serious help. They knew it was going to be rough for those that came back to life and they didn't want them worrying about their loved ones, especially if said loved ones had places that looked like this. 

While Oli and Eva did that, Matt, Daniel, and Nikita went towards where they figured David's bedroom was, if they were remembering his vlogs correctly. What they saw when they entered was basically a pitch black room, save for a bedside lamp that was on, and a giant mound of blankets in the middle of the bed that they were guessing was David. "I'm gonna open the curtains, you guys see if you can get him outta that cocoon." Matt quietly speaks to Daniel and Nikita before he walks over to the wall of curtains on one side of the room so that they can get some actual light in the room. 

Daniel and Nikita walk over the bed, the cocoon moves just a bit and David pokes his head out of it. "Hey guys." Oh he looks awful. Like at that level of awful where you have to lie and say that it isn't that bad when in reality it's so bad that it's kind of making you wanna cry. "Hi David." Daniel manages a smile and he looks at Nikita to see if she's managing a convincing smile, she's got a good one set on her face for now. "We just wanted to check up on you and see how you were doing." Nikita speaks with a soft, sort of calm tone, at least, calm by Nikita standards. 

"I'm doing great." David speaks, but he's got so much sarcasm in his voice that it was clear that he didn't mean it. Nikita and Daniel share a look, someone was feeling grouchy. "I know you're being sarcastic as a defense mechanism but that doesn't make it any less hurtful." Matt points this out to David as he draws back the curtains, letting in a lot of natural light and showing the beautiful view that David had. Though judging by the fact that David genuinely hissed when he saw the sunlight, he hadn't opened those curtains in a while. "Why did you open them?!" David squints at Matt has he tries to regain his ability to properly see.

"Because you can't sit around in the darkness all day in a blanket cocoon." Matt looks at David, clearly concerned. Matt might be going just a bit dad mode. "Well why not?" David replies, he thought that this was a perfectly good way to be handling the situation. "Because it isn't healthy...and I'm pretty sure I can smell you from here, dude. You need a shower." David looks offended by that," I will have you know that I smell-" David was going to say, smell great, and then he actually gave himself a sniff to prove the point and quickly changed his mind." Okay maybe I do need to shower." Nikita and Daniel both nod," You definitely need one." David showering would be the perfect chance for them to get Joey inside.

"You go shower, we'll be waiting out here once you're actually good and clean and clothed in clothes that you haven't been wearing for at least the past week." Daniel was trying to be nice, but he knew that a shower would actually do David some real good besides hygiene wise. Staying clean actually really helped Daniel when he was trying to get better, it sort of gave him a reason to get out of bed on some of his really bad days. Daniel also knew it would be a perfect way for them to get Joey inside without having to worry about David possibly seeing him. "I mean...I guess a shower could do me some good." David untangles himself from the blanket cocoon and that's when the smell really hit them...yeah he needed that shower.

"You go shower and we'll go burn these blankets." Nikita jokes, but she's holding her nose cause that is not a good smell. David chuckles a bit," The laundry room is just past the kitchen, throw them in the washer and I guess I'll try to wash them later." With that, he gets up and heads over to his closet to grab himself some new clothes since he figured that he would just change in the bathroom. While he was picking clothes, Nikita, Daniel, and Matt headed out of the room. Matt did grab the dirty blankets that way he could toss them into the washer cause he didn't think that he could stand that smell for much longer.

When they walked back into the sort of open area where the living room and kitchen were, it actually looked a lot better. Eva and Oli were cleaning and seemed to be in the middle of a quiet conversation about something. Though when they see the others, they stop talking. "Well?" Oli asks this as he picks up a red solo cup and tosses it into the black trash bag he had in his hand. "He's going to take a shower and I'm going to go throw these in the washer before I throw up." Matt replies, quickly moving past everyone and heading to the laundry room so that he could get those blankets in the washer.

"Okay...have you told him about why we're really here?" Eva quietly asks this, mainly speaking to Daniel. Daniel shakes his head," Not yet. Though I am going to tell Andrea and Tyler that it's okay to bring Joey in once David's in the shower since he won't be able to hear anything." That's when they hear the shower go on, go time. Daniel quickly heads to the front door and opens it. He can see Andrea and Tyler still pretending to look for that earring. "Guys!" Daniel quickly gets the attention by doing that sort of whisper yell," He's in the shower! Now's the best chance for us to do this." Andrea and Tyler quickly get to work on getting Joey out of the trunk and inside cause Joey probably wouldn't of lasted much longer in the trunk of Andrea's car. 

They manage to get Joey inside and hidden in the kitchen with a glass of water before David gets out of the shower. Once Joey was in the kitchen, Andrea and Tyler set to work on helping Oli and Eva with cleaning up. This place needed all the help that it could get. Matt had come back, having gotten the washer started and all the blankets into said washer. Just as they were sure that the place was starting to look pretty good, they heard the shower turn off. It was almost time to tell him what was really going on. They hide Joey behind the island, that way if David walked into the living room, he wouldn't be able to clearly see Joey.

About a minute later, David comes into the living room, dressed in a similar outfit to what he normally wore, but clearly cleaner and smelling a hell of a lot better. "Well? Did that help you feel any better?" Daniel asks, genuinely wondering if it had helped. "Yeah man...I actually feel a little bit better now that I've showered." David was clearly a bit surprised by the fact that the shower had helped. "Staying clean, even when you feel awful, can really help you feel better. It definitely helped me a lot during the first while that Joey was missing." Daniel was starting to wonder if asking David for help would be a good idea, but Joey was already in the house so they didn't really have many more options.

"Can you sit down for a second?" Eva asks David this as she ties off a trash bag, they had managed to get the place looking pretty good in the little while that they had been here. "Sure?" David replies, raising an eyebrow slightly but sitting down on the couch anyways," I'm guessing that you guys aren't just here to check up on me?" David takes the silence as a yes and sighs. "Listen, guys. I'm fine, really. Though please don't try to drag me outside and to go out to eat or something. I just wanna stay inside and wait on hearing back from The Police about Liza." 

"Actually...Liza is why we're here." Daniel speaks calmly, but slowly. "We think we know where she is...but we can't tell the cops because if we tell the cops she'll die." David's eyes widen at Daniel's words," What?!" He was clearly not expecting any of this. "Liza...and a bunch of other YouTubers...were kidnapped by this crazy lady named the Collector. She's been slowly kidnapping YouTubers over the last few years...and only a few have made it out." David's eyes were wide as saucers as he tried to understand what he was hearing. Surely this had to be some sort of cruel joke? There was no way all these missing YouTubers were connected...right?

"In total; only seven of us have made it out." Matt speaks up from where he was leaning against the pool table," Me, Nikita, Oli, Eva, Andrea, Tyler, and..." He trails off and looks towards the kitchen. Joey pops up from behind the counter," And me." David would swear for the rest of his life that he nearly blacked out in that moment. "Holy shit." David stands up and he's clearly freaked out," It's impossible that you're here. You've been missing for three years, people would notice if you came back." Joey sighs at David's words, he had heard that before. "Not if I managed to hide and didn't leave the house unless absolutely necessary." Joey leaves the kitchen and steps into the living room," I'm alive and so are the others. We just have to go through a little bit before we can go get them." 

"How do you know that we'll be able to find them?! How do you know that they're still alive?! How do you know that if we do find them that we won't be killed or kidnapped by this Collector lady?!" David was clearly upset, so Matt does move a bit to the left that way he's standing in front of the flame thrower so that David can't see it. "Because we figured out where they were, we know they're still alive because she likes to keep them alive, and we know that she has plans to go out and leave for one night and that plan happens in one week exactly. We have one week to gather up the people that we plan to bring with us when we go to get them out of there." 

David was clearly trying to process all of this," You guys are completely serious about all of this?" He looks at the group, who give yeses in the forms of nods and a few actual verbal yeses. "I..." He sighs for a moment, like he's really thinking about it. "If I go with you, then we rescue everybody and I get Liza back?" He was looking directly at Joey, clearly wanting a yes or no. "Yes. Though it will be a very dangerous mission... and we'll have to wear costumes so that we blend in with the abandoned museum that she's keeping them in." David seems to consider his options for a moment, then he speaks.

"I'm in." 


	8. A Look at a List

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that they have David on their side, the group decides to look at the list and plan out who they're going to go see next. The group learns some surprising information from this.

Now that David had officially joined them, the group decided that it would be best for them to go over Matt's list so that they could determine who to go see next. So, they all sat down on the couch and Matt pulled the list up on his phone. "Okay, I will say this," Matt looks at the group," This list took me a while but I am almost certain that every person on this list will be willing to help our cause." Nikita raises an eyebrow at the almost certain," Bitch, almost certain? That isn't gonna get us all the people that we need, honey." She says it with a sass to her voice and Matt sighs," Almost certain is better than nothing." Matt and Nikita had sort of developed a little friendly rivalry since they left Everlock and now was one of the moments where you could see the friendship beginning to show.

"Alright alright," Oli gives the two a look," Who do you think we should go see next?" Matt immediately scrolls through the list and stops quickly on a name. "I think we need to go see Mike Lamond, aka Husky, aka Ro's boyfriend." The look that Joey and Nikita got on their faces seemed to show a ray of emotions. Matt knew it would be hard, but he really needed to see Mike and actually talk to him about this. He knew that Ro would want someone to check on Husky if she passed and keep him from falling too far into food and hiding from the world and he had only been able to check up on him a few times.

"Are you sure you wanna do that?" Eva looks at Matt," Facing someone like Husky....it's difficult. Speaking from when me and Oli went to see Ryland...it was so bad." She and Oli look at each other. Ryland had been heartbroken, it was like seeing someone's whole world shatter, they had used the kidnapping excuse and Ryland had understood...but it was clear that he was in pain. They spent a good month trying to help him recover, which actually ended up being a really good thing, cause they did help Ryland out of the darkness when it first hit him. They did feel pretty bad about lying to Teresa but they knew it was the right thing to do.

"I've already spoken to him...he's a mess. All he knows is that me, Nikita, Ro, and several other YouTubers were kidnapped, that me and Nikita made it out of the kidnapping and that Ro was still kidnapped. As far as he knows, he can't actually tell the police that Ro was kidnapped because he thinks she's alive and that she'll die if he goes to the cops." Matt nods his head slowly, like he's going over what he wants to say in his head. " He loves Ro more than he loves anything or anyone else in the entire world and I think that would be reason enough for him to join us." The group was unsure, what if Mike didn't say yes? Just how screwed would they end up being?

"Alright. I say we go for Mike." Oli nods his head and the others share forms of agreement with them. "Though we should have a back up person to go for just incase Mike ends up not agreeing to go or we can't find Mike at his house." That was a reasonable idea, there was always a need for backups, plus they'd probably be able to get at least one person off their list in the process. The question is, who would they go for? They needed somebody they knew would work, just incase Mike fell through in some way. They couldn't go for anybody with a kid, those people came last. They needed somebody who wasn't in a relationship so that they wouldn't have to worry about a partner...

"What about Kian?" Nikita suggests," Single, nearby, and he'd probably be willing to help cause it means he'll get JC back." The group thinks on this for a moment. Single, probably living alone, he could work. "He could work...but I honestly don't know if he's doing okay mentally or physically." Matt replies," He stopped being active about two months after JC 'vanished', he's still alive, it's just that people rarely see him out and about. Some of his friends, like Colby Brock and Brennen Taylor have stopped by and shown him in videos, and each time he looks worse and worse."

"Maybe it's best if we check on him...if he's that bad, he could probably need the time out of the house." David nods his head," Trust me, I'm glad that my friends were around to at least drag me into eating and getting out of bed. He probably has that sort of help, but if he cared about JC as much as I cared about Liza? He'll definitely need help getting out of the house." David sighs, like he's thinking about something. "If you guys hadn't came here...I probably would've stayed in bed all day and just eaten more Chipotle..." Chipotle and laying in bed had been a coping mechanism for David, and it had been unhealthy as all hell.

"Okay so Kian is our backup if Mike falls through?" Tyler asks," And if Mike works, do we just go for Kian next?" The group nods and shares a few yeses. "Alright." Joey nods his head," I say we go to Mike and Ro's place, see if he's there, and if he isn't, then we go to Kian's...but first, can we eat? I'm hungry." Daniel gives his boyfriend a look, of course Joey was hungry. Joey had had this odd appetite since he came back to life. He could eat and eat for hours somedays and others, he wouldn't be hungry at all. It was concerning, but they couldn't really figure out what was causing it.

"Yeah, want me to Postmate us some food?" David pulls out his phone, Postmates was a good idea. It meant that they didn't have to actually go out and that they could just wait at David's house and plan some more. There's a choir of yeses and they all state their orders once David gets Postmates pulled up. It was a fair mix, but my god that was a lot of food, even for nine people. They all chip in and pay for the food and it takes about thirty minutes for their food to get to David's place. They dug into it once the food was there, eating all of it in under thirty minutes.

Once they were done eating, they cleaned up and began loading everyone into their cars. They decided to leave David's Tesla at David's house, that way it would seem like David stayed at his house. Then they loaded up, Joey, Daniel, Nikita and David in Daniel's car, Oli, Eva, and Andrea in Andrea's car, and Tyler and Matt in Tyler's car. Joey, unfortunately, had to suffer through hunkering down in the backseat so that nobody would see him. Though it wasn't a far drive to Mike and Ro's house, only about thirty minutes. 

Once they got there, they realized something, it was time for them to face the Cinnamon Rolls Boyfriend...and they didn't know if they were ready for it. 


	9. The Baker's Boyfriend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group has finally reached their next persons house. The home of one Mike Lamond, aka Husky, aka Ro's boyfriend. They talk to him, but will he agree to help? Or will he be too far saddened to help?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is going to cover some really heavy topics such as suicidal thoughts, mentions of possible alcoholism and depression, please feel free to skip this chapter if you can not handle such topics.

The first thing that they noticed was the air of darkness that seemed to surround the house. All of the decorations were up, the ones that Ro had worked so hard to make sure were perfect, but even with the twinkling lights and the welcoming signs...it felt like there was something empty in the house. The curtains were closed, no signs of life, Mike's car was in the driveway but it had dust on it...as if no one had touched it in a while. Matt and Nikita share a look, they had checked on Mike a few times, and he had seemed okay when they talked to him. Though now that they thought about it, it was clear that he had been putting on a show and that he was nowhere near as okay as he allowed himself to seem.

As everyone gets out of their cars, Matt gives the group a look. "I'm going to go knock on the door, okay?" He seemed concerned, he was looking at the house like there was a darkness around it. "Are you sure you wanna go to the door alone?" Oli asks," We don't know how he's going to react when he sees Joey." Matt nods his head," Hide Joey until I give the okay for him to be reintroduced to Mike." The others agree to this and Joey hides behind one of the cars while Matt walks over to the front door. They could faintly hear barking inside. Must of been Cookie, the adorable French Bulldog that Mike and Rosanna were 'parents' to. 

Matt takes a deep breath and knocks on the door," Mike? It's me, Matt! I've got some of our friends with me and we just wanted to check up on you!" He listens, waiting for a response. After a minute, he frowns and places his hand on the door knob," Mike?" He calls out again, twisting the door knob to see if the door would open...and it does. Luckily it opened as one of the doors that swung inside and didn't swing outside which meant that Cookie couldn't get out even if she scratched at it for an hour. The door opening had caused the group to tense up, that wasn't good. Once the door opened, the heard the sound of a running click clack of Cookie's nails as she booked it to the door to see who was there. 

Luckily, once she saw Matt, she stopped at his feet and barked at him. Not a mean, 'Who are you?' bark, more of a 'I know you! Pick me up, please!' bark. "Hey, Cookie." Matt speaks gently and crouches down so that he can pick Cookie up. "Where's your daddy at? Is he curled up in bed again?" Cookie simply barks in response. Matt frowns a bit and looks at the group," Everybody inside. I think Mike might need our help." The group follows Matt requests and they all head inside, Matt closing the door with Cookie in his arms. 

The house was dark, no lights were on, the blinds were closed...it was like all the life had been sucked out of the house. "Let's check upstairs, I get the feeling that if Mike is anywhere; he's up there." Matt speaks," Oh and just double check this floor, for all we know he's hiding in the gym with the curtains drawn...again." He sighs a bit. Nikita had been silent the whole time, but she speaks up. "Me and Matt will check upstairs, Mike has seen the most of us as of late so it only makes sense for us to be the ones to check on him." The group nods, it did make the most sense for that to be the course of action. 

While Matt and Nikita went upstairs, the others checked all around the first floor and the backyard. Oli and Eva were in the kitchen, actually checking the fridge cause they were concerned that Mike probably hadn't checked the date on anything in a while and that was not gonna be any better if he went with them. Tyler and Andrea checked out the backyard and cleaned up what they could, including the pool; because they knew that they wouldn't want the people they cared about to come home to a mess. Now they just gotta make sure that Mike isn't a mess. 

Matt knocks on the door to the master bedroom. "Mike? It's me and Nikita! We brought a couple of friends to help clean up the house while we check on you. Can we come in?" All that was heard in response was a groan in response, that sounded sort of like "Come in.." Mike sounded, honestly, like complete crap. Matt opens the door and steps inside, and he hears the clink of glass bottle against the door. 

What they see inside of the master bedroom was honestly...quite the sight. Empty beer bottles, empty whiskey bottles, all over the floor. The curtains were closed, and Mike was in the middle of the bed in what could only be described as a blanket burrito. "Jesus Christ..." Nikita's eyes go wide," Mike..." Mike was starring up at the celling," She and I were gonna have kids, you know? She went through the whole process of freezing her eggs, we were both doing our best to get healthier...and then she gets taken and I can't even do anything about it." His face was tear stained, his eyes were starring off into the distance as if all hope was lost. Matt frowns and makes his way over to Mike while Nikita opens the door and yells down the stairs that the others should bring some recycling boxes up here so they can clean up the bottles. 

"Mike...we actually came here because we think we found a way to help Ro." Matt decides that just being straight up about it was better than just slowly making his way to it, especially given the current state that Mike was in. Mike's eyes go wide at Matt's words and he sits up in bed, shaking off the blanket burrito," What?!" He was clearly surprised by that, though they could tell that he wasn't sure if Matt was serious. "We figured out how to help Ro...but it's really complicated and insanely dangerous and we can't go to the cops about it because if we do it could get Ro killed." Judging by how fast Mike had gotten out of bed at Matt's word, he believed them. 

"How did you figure out how to save her?" Mike asks this as he gently takes Cookie from Matt's arms. "We had some help from some friends." At that moment, the others come in with various boxes so that they can help clean up...and judging by the way they reacted to seeing the bottles, which was a mixture of pure shock and concern, they were definitely gonna help. "Well what do we do?" He asks this as he gently places Cookie on the bed and heads over to the closet cause judging by the look...and smell, of his clothes, he hadn't changed in a long time and definitely needed a shower. 

"It's...complicated, but basically we have to go in and save Ro and a bunch of other people from a lady who calls herself The Collector. We have to dress up in costumes to match the whole vibe of the museum that she's keeping them in...and we might have to hurt some people." Joey speaks up. Mike had had his back to the group, up until that point. So he turned around as soon as he heard Joey' s voice," That's...not right...you're missing." Mike points a finger at Joey," You've been missing for like four years!" He had his clothes in his hands. 

"Trust me dude..." David was picking up a bunch of the glass beer bottles," This is way more complicated than what we think it is." Mike frowns a bit," Why are you guys all in on this?" He looks at the group, clearly wanting an answer. The group shares a look and then Eva speaks up," Because our friends are being held captive by that women, just like Ro. All those missing YouTubers? She has them." Mike looks concerned," How did you guys figure all this out?" Joey again, speaks up. "I'm friends with some people who want to help us, they were able to gather this intel during a sort of...recon mission." Mike raises an eyebrow, but nods," Okay...let me call Molly so that I can see about her watching Cookie." 

"Is that a yes?" Matt asks, he and the rest of the group was really really hoping for a yes. Mike nods his head," It is a yes, I will help you...but let me shower and then call Molly." 


End file.
